


My Name On Your Lips

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [59]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Cultural Differences, Denial of Feelings, Feels, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Nicknames, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Protective Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Feels, Worried Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24319600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Tony’s always used nicknames for Loki, and he’s always used them with affection. The name that Loki’s been callinghim,however… well, Tony’s pretty sure it’s not affectionate at all.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Going Down Swinging [59]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330490
Comments: 57
Kudos: 771
Collections: Tony gets the love he deserves





	My Name On Your Lips

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [你的名字](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542196) by [kummerspeck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kummerspeck/pseuds/kummerspeck)



> I got the idea for this fic from [this tumblr post.](https://quietlyapocalyptic.tumblr.com/post/188423590419)  
>   
>  **Prompt** — _“Look at me.”_

Tony always used nicknames for people.

It was just a _thing_ , just something he did. And not only for the people he was close to, though they were the ones who tended to receive nicknames that stuck.

Like– Reindeer Games.

Rock of Ages.

Bambi.

_Lokes_.

They were all just _names,_ monikers that held affection– more in Loki’s case than in anyone else’s. They slipped out without permission, they… it was just how Tony was.

But. Sometimes, he forgot that not everyone liked them. He didn’t stop and think whether _Loki_ would like them.

And oh, the god didn’t say anything about it– at first, he’d given Tony a bit of an _odd_ look upon hearing the most frequently used _Lokes_. But then, Tony figured he just got used to it, because they spent so much time together in the lab and in the penthouse and Loki never seemed to mind.

But then… after a while, Loki started calling Tony… _something_ , and Tony was sure that it was to get back at him for all the nicknames.

Tony didn’t know what the word was– it was in another language, probably Asgardian since not even JARVIS could translate it. But Tony knew it was an insult of some kind because it was always said in either this _harsh_ tone of voice or in a low whisper, as if Loki were afraid that someone else would hear. And, even though Tony never heard it clear enough to be able to pronounce it himself, it certainly _sounded_ close enough to ‘asshole’ that he would have bet that was what Loki was saying.

It shouldn’t have hurt. Tony had long since learned how to deal with insults, one couldn’t survive as a public figure otherwise. Even beyond that, name calling was rather common among the Avengers– not like he kept a tally or anything, but Tony was fairly sure that Clint called him a dick on the daily. Tony knew how to _own_ that.

But… when it was Loki…

Tony didn’t want insults or friendly jibes. He yearned for Loki to feel the same affection that Tony felt for him, for Loki to look at him with softness in his expression and say Tony’s _name_ with the kind of tenderness Tony tried to hide whenever a _Lokes_ slipped past his lips.

But…

No.

The _insult_ , whatever it was, was all that Tony ever got—

And yeah, okay.

So maybe that fucking hurt.

Especially when Tony realised that Loki didn’t call anyone else by anything other than their names, as if nicknames were below him. Apparently, Tony was the only one that irritated Loki enough to earn such a recurring insult.

And… Tony tried to put that in perspective. He tried to tell himself that this was a clear sign that it was time to stop pining after someone he couldn’t have, time to move the fuck on.

But it didn’t matter how many times he repeated the thought. He had somehow managed to fall in love with a guy who only gave him insults in return, and yet… Tony just couldn’t stop.

Because there _were_ moments when Loki softened a little around the edges, when they could work side by side and they could laugh together in a way that Tony couldn’t with anyone else. He adored Loki’s mind, and he loved Loki’s wit. At any one moment there was nothing more he wanted than to take Loki’s hand and draw him close, to press a kiss to Loki’s lips and have Loki kiss him _back_.

But… Loki didn’t like him in the same way. Loki hardly seemed to like him at all—

Something that was evidenced even more than usual one dreary Wednesday on a random New York street, the afternoon sun glinting down on Tony’s unusable suit and the metal plates of Loki’s Asgardian armour.

Tony had been knocked out of the sky while they had been fighting the alien invaders of the week, and he would have gone splat against the sidewalk if Loki had not caught him in a web of seiðr. A word of gratitude was already on the tip of his tongue as he used the emergency release to open the suit, but he didn’t even have the chance to utter it.

“That was reckless and foolish,” Loki hissed before Tony’s feet even hit the ground. “You should not have taken that risk—”

“I ended it, didn’t I?” Tony snapped back– because he _had_. The aliens had seemed similar enough to the Chitauri that he had thought it was worth a shot to try and shoot down the large creature that appeared to be controlling the others. And hey, he had been _right_. 

But how was he supposed to know that it would emit an extremely powerful electromagnetic pulse when it exploded? How was that _his_ fault?

“It was foolish,” Loki hissed, his hands curling into fists. “If I had not been here, Ástvinur, you would have died _—”_

“Oh yeah?” Tony snarled, the use of _that_ _fucking insult_ rubbing him the wrong way. “Well maybe, if you think that I’m so useless, if you hate me that fucking much then maybe you should have just _let me!”_

Loki’s eyes widened at that, and his skin paled as he took a step back– as if Tony had dealt him a physical blow.

And Tony instantly felt the cold grasp of guilt begin to curl in his gut because– he hadn’t _meant_ it. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Loki, because… even if Loki seemed to think at times that Tony was the scum of the Earth, Tony wanted nothing more than to see Loki smile.

But before he could utter an apology—

“Loki! Stark!” Thor exclaimed, his arms wide. Tony had not even heard him approach, but from the way that Mjölnir was held loosely in his hand it was clear that he had been there for a while. “I did not know that you were together! Congratulations!”

Tony snorted. “Thor,” he said. “Please. I don’t know where you got that idea, but. Loki and I are _not_ together. Read the room, for god’s sake.”

Thor’s smile immediately turned into a frown. “But…”

“You are mistaken, Thor,” Loki snapped—

And then he disappeared in a sudden flare of green seiðr.

Tony blinked. That was… odd.

Because.

“You know usually,” he said as he turned to Thor, confused. “When someone disappears like that after snapping that someone is wrong, it normally means that they’re either hiding something or trying to avoid something.”

Thor’s expression was beyond puzzled, about a league and a half past confused. “Loki is in love with you,” he said. “Do you not know this?”

Tony’s heart froze in his chest—

And it then _ached_ , because.

Thor was wrong.

“He doesn’t,” Tony said, his voice a little hoarse. “He hates me, Thor.”

He expected that Thor’s confusion would lessen at that. He was wrong.

“No,” Thor said. “He cannot hate you.”

“He does,” Tony snapped, refusing to believe anything else because– the hope would only hurt. And besides– “There’s this thing he keeps calling me—”

“Ástvinur,” Thor replied. “Yes, I heard him say it—”

“You see?” Tony said, crossing his arms. “That’s _proof_ he hates me.”

It seemed it was Thor’s turn to blink in surprise.

“You believe that… to be an insult?” Thor asked.

“Well what else could it be?” Tony snapped.

And Thor– well, he _smiled_. “That is no insult,” he said, his voice amused.

“Then what—”

“Tony…” Thor’s voice softened despite the remaining touch of amusement, and he took a step forward to clap Tony on the shoulder. “It means darling, or perhaps _loved one_ would be a more accurate translation. It is the most intimate term of affection in the Asgardian language, generally only used when one is deeply in love.”

Tony gaped.

“Tony?” Thor asked.

“Uh, I—”

“Are you all right?”

“I think I need to go and talk to Loki,” Tony said, backing away from Thor. “Right the fuck _now.”_

Thankfully, JARVIS seemed to be on the ball, for Tony had only made it a few steps before a new suit rocketed down and swept him up into the sky. He flew direct and fast to the tower, landing on the balcony, stumbling out of the suit and _hurrying_ into the elevator. But rather than Loki’s quarters, JARVIS took him down to the workshop.

Tony paused in the doorway, surprised. Loki was standing near the glass display cases at the back of the room, examining Tony’s suits.

“I might be able to make these more resilient to electromagnetic pulses,” Loki said by way of greeting– knowing that Tony was there without needing to be told. Tony sighed, and stepped closer as Loki continued. “So that you don’t almost kill yourself again.”

“Loki,” Tony said softly, reaching up with tentative fingers to touch Loki’s shoulder– but Loki took a step closer to the display case before he could, and Tony’s hand fell back to his side.

“Thor was mistaken,” Loki said, the words sounding forced. “Nothing has changed between us.”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t believe that,” he said. “I think you’ve been trying to hide the way you feel. Because you—”

“Thor’s a liar,” Loki hissed, his arms wrapping around his middle. “He only wants to make things more difficult for me—”

“Loki, _look at me,”_ Tony said. “Please. Please don’t make me have this conversation with the back of your head.”

“What conversation?” Loki asked, the lines of his back tensing. “There is no conversation to be had. You and I, we are—”

“Loki,” Tony cut in– and then, realising that the only way that this was ever going to go anywhere was if he went for the throat— “ _Lokes_. You I know that I love you too, right?”

Despite his determination, actually saying the words out loud sent a visceral _twist_ through Tony’s gut—

But then Loki _finally_ turned around, his eyes wide and lips parted in shock. “You _what?”_ he whispered.

“I want to be with you,” Tony said, feeling more confident as he watched Loki’s whole body begin to relax, his expression brightening with wonder. “As a friend, as a _lover_ , as a partner. I’ve wanted that for a while.”

“So have I,” Loki said– and Tony felt a vivid spark of joy. “I… I knew that I shouldn’t use that term, but it simply slipped– and when you did not react the first time, I merely—”

“I didn’t know what it meant,” Tony said—

“I never expected that you would find out,” Loki added, sounding almost breathless.

“Well, I have,” Tony replied. “Now I know what you’ve been saying all this time… and now, I can say it _back.”_

Loki laughed then, a bright, _delighted_ kind of thing that Tony normally only heard when Loki’s guard was all the way down. He stepped closer to Tony and lifted his hands, and his touch was light as he cradled Tony’s face between his palms.

“Anthony,” Loki said tenderly. “ _Ástvinur_.”

Tony just smiled. “Yeah, Lokes,” he said– and it felt better than he ever could have imagined. “Yeah, I love you too.” 

And when they leaned in for their first kiss of many, their lips spoke a language that was impossible to misunderstand.


End file.
